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Democracy: Counting Votes and Absences
We thought it had a good start. There were people out on the streets singing and shouting, waving flags, hugging one another, celebrating the victory of Democracy as the results came pouring in. A Blue Wave, a Blue Tsunami for the Democrat party, flipping States and districts which had once been a solid red to a blue dark enough to be effective. And we thought that this return to democracy was here to stay – at least until the next elections – and things would begin to improve. The reality is something else. In the few days and hours since the results came in – and not all of them…
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Feminism: The Hardliners Fighting Themselves
It’s hard to believe but, even with the rapid advancement of time, knowledge and understanding we are going backwards. Admittedly not all of us, not the entire civilised or uncivilised world, but a few. And it is these few who seem capable of grabbing the headlines which, as we know from the way the press works, should not be that much of a surprise. What is a surprise, though, is that despite the opening up of western society to more equality and fairness, despite the work of feminism and feminists – as much as ordinary people who would not wish to be categorised as such – many women are supporting…
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Billionaires: That Old Taxes Bugbear
There are, we are told, only two things certain in life: death and taxes. In truth there are one or two other things we could add, and the old saying about death and taxes can easily be changed with many other words, but this is the most relevant one here, and the idea people are most likely to quote. It did not originate with Benjamin Franklin, but can be followed back to 1716 and the actor Christopher Bullock, and, as with many things from Franklin’s pen, has been used out of context for so many other matters, it has completely lost all that he had originally referenced it to: the…
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History, and the Memory of Forty-Seven
It is hard to imagine that a time will come when we look back, some people fondly, some of us with horror, and remember the days we are living now, when today, this week, this month and year become history. I daresay this is something common to all generations, especially those which have seen war, pestilence and other political catastrophes, but we are living it now and that makes it special for us. The domination of society by a few hundred super rich, by dictators if not in name then in actions, and by commercial interests more interested in satisfying their shareholders with high payouts, than preserving the world they…
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It’s Cold Out, Baby
All of a sudden, the trees are bare. Their wealth of green leaves have briefly turned the colours of the rainbow, and then their autumn mantle has disappeared and they line the streets and pathways, a hazard for those areas where rain has plastered them to the ground and made their surfaces a slippery danger for the unwary. The weather has changed, and the temperature dropped into single figures (centigrade, for those using outdated measuring systems). Winter is staring us in the face, challenging us to fight it for a last few moments of sun and warmth before the frost coats our lawns and, perhaps, snows fall and obliterate everything.…
